bmh Posted March 30, 2017 Report Share Posted March 30, 2017 Well I have problems with the names of the tenses as well as some of them are different from the ones I learned when I was a kid but in the French system we were taught grammar over and over so that part I can figure out in French, of course it is different in every languages and the best thing to do is to learn the way the tenses are used in other languages without have to think about it in your own language.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mudgirl Posted March 31, 2017 Report Share Posted March 31, 2017 10 hours ago, RVGRINGO said: The problem may be even more basic: No concept of grammar at all! I suffered that problem with 501 Verbs, as I had no idea what any of the tense names meant, in any language, and I was already familiar with, and used a couple of other languages. Words like “preterit, conditional, subjunctive, past perfect, gerund, etc.“ were meaningless to me, as I had learned English, as a child, in experimental classrooms within a Teacher‘s College. We spent 8 years there, then went to high schools and universities without ever learning grammar or that strange thing other kids knew; diagramming. So, when I took up Spanish on arrival in Mexico, I bought “501“ and had a time trying to figure out how to use it. Once done, it was a great help, but I can understand the frustration of others without grammar. My concept of it is still quite rudimentary; I just speak and write.....Correctly, I hope. Most people were just not taught this stuff in a way they could understand at the time. I realize that "preterit" doesn't ring any bells as far as being able to figure out what that would mean, but something like "conditional" actually makes sense. As in, it is conditional upon something else- "I would go(conditional) there if I had time". Future tense is obvious. A gerund is a noun that is made from a verb- in English this is usually done by adding ing to a verb- "thinking" for example. Because of how most people were (not) taught, they think it is super difficult and confusing, which it is not- I could teach it to you in a couple hours. I have a friend who went to a school where they taught to read by phonics, and also some experimental math program. As a consequence, she can't spell and thinks fractions are some kind of rocket science. We were once trying to do a tile laying project together. I said you measure (there were lots of odd shapes) and I'll mark and cut. Then she started by saying okay, its 12 inches and 4 of these little marks. What marks, I ask, quarters, eighths, sixteenths? I have no idea, she responds. I said, what, you can't read a tape measure? No. Needless to say, I had to measure, mark, and then she cut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdlngton Posted March 31, 2017 Report Share Posted March 31, 2017 16 hours ago, cedros said: kbleitch that sounds like an interesting book also. I think I have tracked down what I'm looking for. So did you finally find 501 Verbs totally in Spanish? Or are you opting for a grammar to compliment th 501 English version? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdlngton Posted March 31, 2017 Report Share Posted March 31, 2017 On 3/30/2017 at 6:59 AM, bmh said: Cedros Why don´t you ask one of you mentee for a title or ask a school teacher for a reference, the one Kbleitch mentioned maybe an overkill. It is better to have something published in Mexico as Mexican Spanish is what people here need .The other book is probably great for someone who is already speaking good Spanish but confusing otherwise as the base would be the Spanish from Spain and it is not what you want. For the most part correct Spanish grammar is correct Spanish grammar everywhere Spanish is spoken. There are regional differences in the errors made in Spanish grammar (like Mexicans putting an extra -s on the end of second person singular verbs in the preterite--for example, hablastes instead of hablaste or fuistes instead of fuiste) but correct grammar is correct everywhere. Regional differences are more in vocabulary (are green beans ejotes or habichuelas? Is a camion a bus or a truck? Can you coger someone/something without being gross? What exactly is a coche? Does anybody outside of Mexico know what a tlacuache is? Does anybody outside of Colombia know what a carriel is? Etc.) Also how and when you use usted vs. tu, do you use ustedes or vosotros, is vos even on your radar? These are regional differences in vocabulary but correct grammar, such as sequence of tenses, as outlined by the Real Academia is always correct. The members of the Real Academia are from the entire Spanish-speaking world, not just Spain. It is the recognized official arbiter of correct Spanish usage for all who speak Spanish. It is the body that eliminated the CH and LL as separate letters in the Spanish alphabet, changed the names of the B and V as well as added a second name for the Y depending upon where it appears in a word which determines the sound it makes. That is the alphabet that should now be taught worldwide. Anyway, point is Real Academia governs Spanish everywhere. That doesn't mean everyone does what the Real Academia says as people are always going to misuse a language, just like my friends who continue to say things like "I seen" instead of "I saw," thus offending this grammarian's sensibilities but I try to not let the former English/journalism/Spanish/French teacher pop out and correct them. Kind of like the kind Mexicans who allow my errors in Spanish to pass. ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cedros Posted March 31, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2017 7 hours ago, bdlngton said: So did you finally find 501 Verbs totally in Spanish? Or are you opting for a grammar to compliment th 501 English version? I'm waiting to see what arrives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdlngton Posted April 1, 2017 Report Share Posted April 1, 2017 15 hours ago, cedros said: I'm waiting to see what arrives. Good luck. Hope you get what you want. Be sure to let us know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cedros Posted April 2, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2017 I got the 501 book. The explanations and instructions are in English. My mentee won't be happy but I could not get them in Spanish. I still think it will be quite useful to him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdlngton Posted April 6, 2017 Report Share Posted April 6, 2017 On 4/2/2017 at 4:13 PM, cedros said: I got the 501 book. The explanations and instructions are in English. My mentee won't be happy but I could not get them in Spanish. I still think it will be quite useful to him. Sorry to hear it wasn't what you expected/wanted. Given that the book is often part of an English-speaker-learning-Spanish's reference library, it would surprise me if there existed a Spanish version. Again, if the explanation largely is grammar explanations, consider a comprehensive grammar book from the Real Academia. Am I correct in assuming your mentee. wants to speak a more correct, more educated sounding Spanish? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cedros Posted April 6, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2017 Yes you are correct. He is taking a program with INEA and the librarian in Jocotepec is guiding him on what books to use. He finds both very helpful. On his birthday he will get the 501 book which I'm sure he will find of some use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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